User blog:John Pan/ZD-25
Question: Did the USAF pick the second-best plane in the ATF competition? Consortium answer: Yes! But unlike other people who just discussed the topic, they set out to prove it. In their own ATF program, the Asians simply downloaded blueprints and statistic data from the internet, 'paid' some former Northrop Grumman employees, worked out some mechanical kinks in the design, plugged in advanced avionics, and rolled out 'their' ATF. Now, it's the Super Raptor flying against the Super Black Widow II. The ultimate version of the pre-crisis-era Advanced Tactical Fighter face-off. Named after the Mythological Guardian animal of the East. In 2033, the IPC operated 120 Azure Wyverns. 1 AIRCRAFT Main Armament The ZD-25 has an Advanced Asian Avionics Sun God-I AESA radar. A reverse-engineered APG-77, the SG-I also packs improved Japanese air-to-ground capabilities( mostly 'learned' from 'intense study' of the F-35's APG-81), self-replacing-fuze EMP hardening as well as better performance under the influence of battlefield Electronic Warfare. The ZD-25 also has wing-edge L-band AESA arrays( reverse-engineered from Su-35s) and a FLIR camera. These allow the ZD-25 to have excellent air superiority and strike capability. The ZD-25 carries an AOS 20mm, six dual-stacked Katanas in the forward bay, and a modular bay capable of sloting in four dual-stacked Crossbows or two Chwei-IIs or two TG-1s. AOS 20mm Gatling The AOS 20mm Gatling is a Singaporean compact M61 Vulcan. Firing the same 20mm PGU-29 ammunition at the same speed, the AOS-20 is just as reliable and is 50% shorter. The ZD-25 carries 480 rounds to feed the gun. Katana AAM Katana AAMs are Asian “Evolved Slammers”. The Katana has the same profile as the basic AIM-120C, but sacrifices extended range for a massive 100lb High Explosive warhead, an ECCM-assisted IR seeker and improved off-boresight fire capability. This makes it able to directly replace both the AIM-120 and the AIM-9, as it can provide excellent anti-aircraft firepower from 500 meters to 40,000 meters. Crossbow ALRAAM The Crossbow Asian Long Range Air-to-Air Missile(ALRAAM) is the Asian equalizer to the new AIM-88s and R-80s, both capable of striking targets over 200km away. While just the size of an Evolved Sparrow Missile, the Crossbow has a robust rocket-boosted ramjet motor, a 100lb high explosive warhead, an ECCM-supported guidance suite consisting of an Active Radar Homing seeker and a Terminal IR seeker. Normally the 'smart' countermeasure dispensers label it as a radar-guided missile and only spit out chaff. To its dismay( and most of the time, destruction), the missile would have switched to IR seeking and completely neglected the bundles of chaff. Chwei-II Chwei-II guided bombs are the Asian take on the AGM-130 Precision Guided Bomb. It is equipped with an ECCM-assisted IR seeker, a basic rotate-out guidance fin group, a rocket booster and a massive 2500lb high explosive warhead. This makes the Chwei-II able to flatten a massive area, and the ZD-25 can safely deliver it from 20 km at 30,000ft. TG-I Thousand Gaive-I Cluster Missiles are clear messages that the Indo-Pacific Consortium Air Force hates you. After deployment, it's timed rocket booster activates, as well as sits glide wings. This makes it able to deploy its deadly payload of 132 60mm mortar rounds onto a target area from 100km away. Inertial guidance and a release sensor make the TG-I have enough precision to rip a 1km-by-1km area apart. Upgrades A) Shriken AAM The Shirken AAM was developed out of an air-launched anti-missile missile to protect aircraft against the increasingly intelligent AAMs possessed by the IOR and the NAU. Although it has the same exact 5-inch/127-millimeter tube as the Sidewinder, it has fins that completely fold into its tube, making it's stowage space see a steep decrease. The Shriken uses an IR Seeker, an ECCM suite, a 20-lb small warhead, and a vector-thruster-equipped rocket motor that can propel it to a maximum of eight kilometers. This makes it lethal against enemy missiles, and can bring down helicopters as well. The ZD-25 can carry ten of these missiles in two separate launch pods on the sides of the aircraft's engines. Armor The ZD-25 is equipped with a lightweight Carbon Composite skin that does absolutely nothing in stopping anything heavier than a buckshot round from entering the aircraft. However, it has a full multiband radar jammer, multi-point IR detectors, wavelength analyzers and electromagnetic wave interference devices are all standard. DRFM jammers and IR dazzlers are also carried. The ZD-25 is also the stealthiest fighter aircraft out there- the lowest RCS and IR signature, even lower than the legendary F-22C. It also has specially-developed friction-resistant IR and RADAR-absorbant coating to decrease its profile even more, making it second to only the Mirage in terms of stealth. Propulsion The ZD-25 is equipped with two TA-1875-TF low-bypass turbofans, modified clones of the YF-23's PF-120-GE-100 engines. It produces 70,000lb of thrust at full afterburner, and thanks to the ZD-25's low-drag profile, can reach Mach 2 supercruise faster than any other competitor. It can burst through the air at Mach 3, although the engines normally give out under such stress. The IR signature is cut down by treated ceramic plates lining the rear of each engine. Another pro of the ZD-25 is its massive unrefueled range- one thousand kilometers longer than the F-22C's. Category:Blog posts